A Firm Needs $2 Million of New Long-Term Financing

A firm needs $2 million of new long-term financing. The firm is considering the sale of common stock or a convertible bond. The current market price of the common stock is $42 per share. To sell this new issue, the stock would have to be underpriced by $2 and sold for $40 per share. The firm currently has 300,000 shares of common stock outstanding. The alternative is to issue 20-year, 10 percent, and $1,000 par-value convertible bonds. The conversion price would be set at $50 per share, and the bond could be sold at par. The earnings for the firm are expected to be $500,000 inthe coming year. Assuming the firm chooses the sale of common stock, the earnings per share in the coming year will be ___________.

A) $1.43
B) $1.45
C) $1.47
D) $1.44